Rejected Mate and Following Fate

“Ten years ago, it was about all wolves… a species that dared to kill his woman and his unborn child for merely existing. When he found out she lived and died at the hands of the Santo pack and he thought his child too, he concentrated his hatred on one pack alone.” Leyanne wanders casually across the floor, shrugging as she goes, and all eyes follow her. An awkward quiet around the room instantly as we all digest this.

“That’s why the fog stayed only with us and them … nothing further out. We saw no vampires in our entire trip to find Leyanne.” Meadow fills in the blanks, adding to what I guess she spoke to the witch about, and brings my mind to the truth of her observation. Outside the Santo domain, we never picked up on a single vampire in eight hours of cross-country travel. Not one sense of them, no scent in the air at all. It’s why Leyanne didn’t care about leaving us out in the darkness alone. She knew we weren’t in danger so far from the mountain because vampires weren’t hunting any pack that wasn’t Santo. It makes sense now.

“Correct. Because there were none. I told you; vampires dwell where people don’t and only venture where wolves are when they have a bone to chew. This time, that bone was buried in your father’s garden. Under his patio…” She seems almost smug at her euphemism, smiles with a hint of sarcastic glee, and dusts the mantle as though she’s merely made a small joke. That accent of hers making it sound more like a mocking sentence than a pretty important proclamation. Her calmness grates on my growing nerves and I shuffle in my seat.

“So, the attacks on the home, the tests with the weapon? We weren’t just unlucky…. we were always the target!” Cesar pipes in, repeating the obvious and Leyanne nods, turning slowly to face us as a group and moves back against the mantel to get comfy. I stare at her with a sense of surreal, feeling like this is all a weird dream and digesting it slowly.

If only the vampires knew how ironic that was, what they did. That they almost killed the reason they were even there in the first place. My father would have seen me dead at his own hands was it not for Colton and his pack saving me that night. It’s almost funny.

Their weapon, their tests, hit the home that concealed his child for almost a decade and yet the pack he hated protected me. If only he knew how close he was to taking down his daughter, the Santo heir, Juan and their Luna at the same time. My death would have ended it all, by taking the three of them with me. Yet it wouldn’t have balanced anything at all. I would have died at vampire hands.

“They’re shadowing us here…. because of our bloodline. No wonder they never left. They stalked us, they persisted. And yet the war never progressed. They were waiting and biding time, even if that took years to get past our boundaries.” Matteo runs a hand across his face, his voice deflated as minor shock reverberates around the stillness of the room. I sense Colton tensing beside me and glance up, catching his eye on me as he swallows noticeably and then he turns and looks at all the faces, locked on the witch and the eerie pause to our normally humdrum group.

“There was no war intended. It was always about avenging Marina and Alora. And now he knows about her, which means he focused his efforts on avenging her mother instead. He knew I’d take care of the witches in no time, and that the mongrels he left were no real threat to his child. With Alora’s brother in tow, and his need to avenge Marina too, they aren’t walking away quietly as we hoped. He still wants to address the balance. Darrius warned us because he knows you have people there that still shouldn’t be part of this, and Vampires don’t lay down grudges when vengeance has been their path for decades.” Leyanne sighs heavily.

“Why would he warn us? What does he care?” I finally find my voice and question the motives of that dark weirdo. He didn’t seem all too invested in wolf lives back at that road.

“Darrius is a strange one, honor bound. He’s a Shadow Knight commander of the highest order and he’s never agreed with Varro’s need to crush your kind in revenge. It goes against his code, so he stood back and lifted no finger in the war of the past and kept the Shadow Knights out of it.” Leyanne’s voice softens and I can tell, despite her cool manner and indifferent tone and Darrius’ obvious darker disposition, she has respect for him. Even if she makes it out like it’s a flaw that he has morals.

“What do we do, Cole… those are our people?” Radar sits down suddenly as though shock weakens his legs, pulling my attention to the eyes around the room and I swallow hard as I try to compute all this. I feel like crying and yet something more terrifying simmers inside that we should really be worried about.

“He doesn’t know that if Juan dies… I do.” I point out, mumbling it loud enough for those around to hear and Colton slides his hand over mine and sits on the arm to press close to me. Giving me his comfort because he can sense my anxiety, confusion, and fear. Leyanne exhales heavily, an expression of minor irritation crossing her face as she focuses on me.

“It’s not a detail Darrius would have excluded but that won’t stop Varro wiping out everyone else who’s there and making Juan watch. I don’t think Juan’s death is his goal….. it’s vengeance he seeks. Even if he has to kill everyone to get to him and then lock him in a cage for the rest of his days. Varro is cruel and torture is better suited to his personality. I believe he’ll make Juan suffer until the end of his days.” Her words soothe and yet horrify me at the same time.

“We can’t let them kill everyone at the mountain. There’s so many innocents.” I choke out the words, my head bombarded with so many faces, as my eyes mist over at the thought of losing them, because of my mother. These were people she fought alongside to protect. How was she to know the war was because of us.

“I told him that, but Darrius, he’s not exactly the warmest of souls. His response was merely that many innocents had died in the past, what was a few more if we wanted an end to this. All Darrius cares about is that he no longer gets dragged along watching his future king waste his time on an inferior species. He wants him back where he belongs, back where he is to eventually rule. He warned us so we know what’s coming, but he won’t sway Varro either way.” Leyanne shrugs with one shoulder, making it clear that Darrius is not really going to be of any use to us in this. He’s an information passer at most and his loyalty is with Varro, even if what he’s doing is against Darrius’ code.

“Son of a bitch! That’s what you get for trusting a cold-blooded monster like them. Fucking vampires, man!” Remo is the one to explode, throwing his arms out in agitation but Leyanne doesn’t seem to look offended at all.

I dare say she doesn’t trust Darrius any more than we do and he’s more of an acquaintance for her benefit than a friend. I’m not even surprised that cold blooded demon doesn’t give two craps about innocents. I got the impression he doesn’t feel at all; like he has no humanity. He can stand back and watch many die over these decades and do nothing, when he has an army of his own that could have intercepted in some way, so many times.

Knights… pffft. What good are they? It’s as much a crime to stand idle and do nothing as it is to be part

go to the mountain and protect them ourselves. With us they stand a chance, without us… they die.”

eyes shut to get my breathing under control. Knowing what he says is fact and that they don’t stand a chance as a fractured pack. We took the

fighting and now less than a day later we’ll have to do it all over again. Only this time my brother is on the other side. We’ll have to side with Juan against everything we feel, for the sake of the people and march out there to unify. I can’t

questions the angles. I look to Colton with a nod, that it could

in his pacing and exhales loudly. His whole posture stiff and tense and I can feel

keep ignoring what happens to them. We’ve done it for too long and this time, if we do it again, none of them will be alive by morning. I can’t fail them anymore…. what kind of an alpha does that make me?” He drops his chin to his chest, breaking his focus on me and I catch the moist sheen over his eyes from here as he battles with the turmoil

attack, right? So we have time?” Carmen this time, trying to find a solution with a somewhat upbeat tone as she perches on the edge of her seat. I sink my head into my hands and rub my temples in defeated exhaustion. My brain throbbing

is what he needs to end this, there’s no outrunning it. Colton’s right. We have to go there and protect who we can and let Varro kill who he needs to while making sure Juan isn’t one of them.” Meadow is the voice of reason as this all swirls

bonds.” Radar snorts out through gritted teeth, his anger flaring in his raspy tone. He storms off towards the bookcase before slamming a fist into a row of them and sends them scattering to the floor with a clattering noise, giving me a jolt as he does so. My heart hammering as I recover from flinching at his sudden aggressive display, but it only adds to my uptight tetchiness. It’s no guessing where his anger is focused and

pushes out the deafening guilt that’s building. I only end up stiff as a board and unable to release the

this. Maybe I can somehow….” I don’t even know. I’m deflated, grasping, consumed by the responsibility of

because of all of this? Why don’t I have the answers if they have been guiding me all along? What good am I? Or my gifts that can’t be used. I don’t get why it

even stop this, so what really am I here for? What is the point of

pleading.” Carmen sounds bitter, pulling me to sit up slightly with her tone and I look to her. Catching her eye and biting my lip on the surging pain as I recognize her inner

a stubborn head and a loyal heart, and he thinks this is what he needs to stop the agony in his existence.” I mumble, attempting to appeal to her, trying to send some sort of begging message, hoping to invest her in this a little more. I can tell by her closed off expression and her bleak and cold aura that she isn’t buying it. I know what she’s thinking. That this

home, and I’m not quite done with that…. guess we march to your mountain.” Leyanne cuts in abruptly, bringing everyone’s attention back to her and her steady and nonchalant tone. She really doesn’t seem like anything in this world phases

sinks, because I know him so well. Nothing will sway him from marching there now his mind is made up, and despite everything, he will fight to protect his people even if they turn on us when we get there. He already knows it’s what we’ll do and he’s already planning. As much as I don’t want to do this, I know it’s happening. She shrugs at

used one of my spells to bind her life to Alora, this would have been an easy fix.” Leyanne gestures the twins to move their legs as she looks like she’s planning on leaving the room by walking past the couch where they’re sat. Her

her silently while separately glaring after her. Tied to Juan or not, Sierra should never be put at risk. That witch really is a cold and heartless

Fuck my life….. Most of them haven’t had a chance

behind. They’re our familia, we won’t abandon them this time.” Meadow soothes him from her seated position, but the heaviness in the

us too. We can’t watch them die when most of them had nothing to do with what Juan did to my family. They’re only crime was

holding and sinks down on the arm of my chair where I automatically lean forward to rub my hand up his back to console him. My touch softening his

day…. We can rally what we need. Pack the trucks and sit at the mountain waiting for dusk. Juan won’t attack us if vampires are invading. He’ll be too distracted, so we can focus on the people. Separate them…. Juan’s loyal from the rest. Maybe if we divide two camps and just work our ass off to keep them safe, then Varro will do what he needs to do and realize we won’t back down.” Meadow is determined and I nod almost numbly, seeing the logic in her words and daring to hope. If we stand up for them, not standing in his way with regards to Juan, then maybe we

shot at swaying them once they take down all Juan’s men. Juan, they can have him, as long as they know he has to live, and they can take him away so the rest can be free.” I chime in,

in and hugs her back. Pulling her onto his lap as she curls up tight and for

cry, shocking us all with the show of tears, and without meaning to my eyes fly straight to Carmen who glances

is the last hurdle. We have so much time left Princesa.” Cesar leans in and kisses her gently on the temple, and I caress my stomach absentmindedly, catching Colton’s eyes move to follow my motion and a steely

up, do what we got to do, and then be done with this shit. All of it. The vampires, the feud with the mountain, my father’s shadow, living in fear…..it all ends if we do this right and sort this out tonight. I will